Iron lessens green tea’s benefits: Study

Washington: Green tea is touted for its many health benefits as a powerful antioxidant, but experiment on a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease suggests that consuming green tea along with dietary iron may reduce green tea’s benefits.
“If you drink green tea after an iron-rich meal, the main compound in the tea will bind to the iron,” said Matam Vijay-Kumar, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, Penn State.
“When that occurs, the green tea loses its potential as an antioxidant. In order to get the benefits of green tea, it may be best to not consume it with iron-rich foods,” adds Vijay-Kumar.
Iron-rich foods include red meat and dark leafy greens such as kale and spinach. According to Vijay-Kumar, the same results also apply to iron supplements.
Researchers found that EGCG — the main compound in green tea — potently inhibits myeloperoxidase, a pro-inflammatory enzyme released by white blood cells during inflammation.
Inactivation of myeloperoxidase by EGCG may be beneficial in mitigating IBD flare-ups. But when EGCG and iron are consumed simultaneously, iron-bound EGCG loses its ability to inhibit myeloperoxidase.